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On This Day

1692 - Salem Village. Bridget Bishop, the first colonist tried in the Salem witch trials, was hanged after being found guilty of the practice of witchcraft. (In 1956 the Massachusetts General Court passed an act exonerating her. Well that's alright then.)

1776 - Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston were appointed to the Committee of Five to draft the American declaration of independence.

1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reached Alaska.

1955 – Eighty-three people were killed and at least 100 injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collided at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

1959 - The Hovercraft, invented by Christopher Cockerell, was officially launched in Southampton.

1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin became the only prisoners to successfully escape from Alcatraz Island prison.

1963 - Gov. George Wallace ended his blockade of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and allowed two African-Americans to enroll. (But only when faced with a troop from the Alabama National Guard.)

1967 – The Six-Day War ended when Israel and Syria agreed to a cease-fire.

1987 - Margaret Thatcher won a record third term as prime minister of Britain.

1998 – Catherine Cookson died.

2001 - Timothy McVeigh was executed for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

2002 – Antonio Meucci was acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.